The Leadership Secrets of Hamilton: 7 Steps to Revolutionary Leadership from Alexander Hamilton and the Founding Fathers

by Gordon Leidner

VICTORIOUS in the War of American Independence, Alexander Hamilton and the founding fathers built the first successful democratic government. They'll forever go down in history as having changed the rules of leadership and redefined what it means to ignite change in people.

As a modern day leader, you may not be establishing a new system of government -- but the principles of radical leadership still apply, whether you're undertaking a new initiative, rejuvenating a business, or sparking motivation in your team.

Using history's greatest rebels as your guide: START YOUR REVOLUTION!

Genres: Leadership, History, Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

Published February 7, 2017

About the author

Freelance history writer Gordon Leidner has offered free educational articles about American history at his website, www.greatamericanhistory.net, for over twenty years. He has authored twelve books, including Lincoln’s Gift: How Humor Shaped Lincoln’s Life and Legacy, The Leadership Secrets of Hamilton: 7 Steps to Revolutionary Leadership from Alexander Hamilton and the Founding Fathers, and Conversations with Lincoln: Little-Known Stories from Those Who Met America’s 16th President. Upcoming is his latest Abraham Lincoln and the Bible: A Complete Compendiumy.

Reviews

[Tom Darrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a high school history teacher who has used some of Leidner's work on leadership theory in my classes to look at the leadership of figures like Abraham Lincoln. I bought this book to see if he had additional information that I could use for my unit on the American Revolution.

This book is a simplistic combination of leadership and management theory with some history sprinkled in. Leidner's background is in business, but not as an academic in business. He also dabbles in history, but not professionally. This book has the hallmarks of those experiences. His use of historical examples are very basic. The biographies of the historical figures are short and contain information that most high school students would know. The information about leadership theory is also rather vague.

If you don't have any experience in leadership theory, this book might be worth reading as an intro to deeper concepts. But it should not be used as a major source of information or learning about the Revolution or leadership theory. It did encourage me to dig a little deeper on these topics to find other works to use with my students.

[Vanessa Pillay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was super excited to received a free ARC of this book. Like the rest of the world, I am obsessed with the soundtrack to Hamilton. I tried really hard to get tickets on a recent trip to NYC, with no avail.
This is not a super-detailed biography or history, but it's a good overview of the American revolutions and the major players, which, as a Canadian, was really helpful. The book goes through seven major leadership skills and breaks each down to three key actions. The skills and the actions are illustrated by examples from the founding fathers. It was a nice, short, practical breakdown. I think it would be a good gift for a graduate or for someone who has been promoted.

[Rebecca Graves · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t really tell you anything that isn’t commonly talked about. Didn’t feel like I learned any “secrets” and the material was pretty basic. The history was there, but the whole book was mainly around writing the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Nothing earth staggering or gets your mind thinking. 2.5

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick book about Hamilton, but it included information and quotes from many of the founding fathers. Probably best for a high school student as the book had quality suggestions on leadership skills, but wasn't particularly enlightening for me at this point in my life as I've read plenty of books on the founding fathers/leadership.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read that I admittedly picked up because of my fascination with Hamilton stemming from his biography and the musical. But a surprisingly nice representation of leadership displayed by our Founding Fathers.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was okay. It was a quick and easy read. However, I felt like the history was all over the place and there were not many examples of how Hamilton portrayed leadership in relation to how Leidner gave leadership advice.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transformational Leadership!

[Susan Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is hard to review this book. It is suppose to be a book on leadership but I find the "self-help" portion to be very thin with just a couple of pages of explanation and examples for each of the seven leadership styles. The historical information regarding leadership styles (Hamilton - Prepare yourself/ Washington - Be honest and trustworthy, etc.) was accurate. The reading level of the entire book was about that of an older elementary age child. I found the historical portion interesting, but nothing more than you would learn by listening to the Musical Hamilton or by reading information in an elementary school text book about the Founding Fathers. So is this book for adults or kids? I could not quite figure it out. The book was concise and well written.

I borrowed this book from the Berkley, MI public library on a whim as I am interested in all things related to the Revolutionary War.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Espouses principles that can be used in daily life. The founding fathers used these principles and this book also shows the reader how they may be put into practice even today. Reading this book is a history lesson in itself as well as a self help guide.